Podcast Videos

Construction and AEC leaders — sustainability isn't slowing down because people don't care. It's slowing down because we've spent too much time selling sustainability instead of solving problems. In this episode of Activating Curiosity™, Ryan Ware sits down with Josh Dorfman—CEO of Supercool, climate entrepreneur, and former CEO of Plantd—to explore why the future of sustainable construction, climate innovation, and the built environment depends less on convincing people and more on creating solutions people naturally want to choose. Together, they discuss sustainable construction, product innovation, business strategy, consumer behavior, and why the most successful ideas aren't adopted because they're environmentally friendly—they're adopted because they solve real problems and create better outcomes. What We Get Into Why people adopt better solutions—not bigger sustainability arguments The biggest mistake organizations make when promoting climate solutions How better buildings ac…

Construction and AEC leaders: what built your company won't scale it. Rory Rubin, founder of SI Container Builds, walks through the exact inflection point every growing firm hits — when proof of concept isn't enough anymore, and the playbook that worked yesterday becomes the bottleneck. Key drivers: • The "teenage years" transition from startup to growth company • Why awards and relationships aren't a scaling strategy • The moment every construction leader has to rewrite how they lead "What got us here is not gonna get us there." That line isn't a quote — it's a diagnosis. If your firm is stuck at the same ceiling it hit two years ago, this is your conversation. Watch the full conversation on Activating Curiosity with Ryan Ware.

Construction and AEC leaders: collaboration isn't soft — it's the sharpest tool you have. Rory Rubin, founder of SI Container Builds, frames collaboration through a lens most construction leaders never consider: social work. The core skill isn't technical. It's bringing people together. Key drivers: • Why "collaboration" carries the wrong reputation on the jobsite • The social-work principle every effective leader already uses without knowing it • Education as the foundation of real team alignment This one hits different. The leaders who dismiss collaboration as soft are the ones who burn through teams fastest. Rory's reframe makes it impossible to ignore. Watch the full conversation on Activating Curiosity with Ryan Ware.

Construction and AEC leaders — the affordable housing crisis has a blind spot, and it took a social worker to find it. Rory Rubin spent her career in Alzheimer's research, healthcare, and management consulting. At 48, she realized she wasn't doing anything purpose-driven — so she started a construction company. Not a car. Not a midlife crisis. A modular construction company that builds with shipping containers. She sees the housing crisis differently. And after this conversation, you will too. Rory Rubin is the founder of SI Container Builds, a sustainable modular construction company turning repurposed shipping containers into affordable housing, portable power pods, and workforce housing solutions. She joins Ryan Ware to discuss what social work taught her about collaboration, community, and why construction's biggest problems aren't technical — they're human. This episode is brought to you by New Lyfe Accounting and Overcast Innovations. In this episode: Why Rory walked away …

Construction and AEC leaders: being the smartest person in the room isn't leadership — it's a ceiling. Rory Rubin, founder of SI Container Builds, reveals why hiring people smarter than you is the most underrated leadership move in construction. Key drivers: • Why "expert identity" holds construction leaders back • The shift from knowing everything to building the right team • What social work taught Rory about true collaboration This clip cuts through the ego trap that keeps leaders stuck. Whether you're running a jobsite or a firm, the principle is the same: your value isn't what you know — it's who you bring together. Watch the full conversation on Activating Curiosity with Ryan Ware.

Construction and AEC leaders — five words are killing more innovation than any budget cut or supply chain disruption. "I don't wanna be the guinea pig." Josh Mensinger has heard it from owners, GCs, architects — everyone waiting for someone else to go first. Meanwhile, the industry's biggest problems don't wait for consensus. Key drivers: The culture of risk-aversion that blocks progress across AEC Why early adopters shape the market — and late adopters scramble to catch up How one leader saying yes breaks the logjam for everyone The shift: Innovation doesn't need more proof. It needs more courage. Be the one who goes first — the industry is waiting for exactly that. 🎧 Full episode: Activating Curiosity with Ryan Ware — "The Hardest Truth About Prefab No One in Construction Wants to Admit" Subscribe for more construction leadership insights every week. www.ActivatingCuriosity.com www.ConnectiveConsultingGrp.com

Construction and AEC leaders — this is what 70-hour weeks cost the humans who build your projects. "Drugs to stay awake. Drugs to kill the pain." Josh Mensinger doesn't soften it. He's watched it happen. And then he asks the question every leader should be asking: what if prefab could make 40 hours pay the same as 70 — and let people go home without being half dead? Key drivers: The physical toll the industry has accepted as normal Why the next generation is walking away from construction How industrialized construction changes the math on quality of life The shift: Prefab isn't about efficiency metrics. It's about whether this industry has a workforce in 20 years. The people building your projects are breaking — and there's a better way. 🎧 Full episode: Activating Curiosity with Ryan Ware — "The Hardest Truth About Prefab No One in Construction Wants to Admit" Subscribe for more construction leadership insights every week. www.ActivatingCuriosity.com www.ConnectiveConsultingGrp.…

Construction and AEC leaders — there's a single sentence that has stalled more prefab projects than any budget or technical limitation. "Ask the architect." "Ask the GC." Josh Mensinger has spent two decades navigating this exact standoff. The GC blames the architect. The architect blames the GC. And the project stays exactly where it was — nowhere. Key drivers: Why the delivery model — not the technology — is the real barrier How the "you go first" dynamic kills innovation before it starts Why IPD and progressive design-build break the cycle The shift: Prefab doesn't fail because of cost or logistics. It fails because no one wants to be the one who said yes first. Leaders who step into that gap change the outcome for everyone. 🎧 Full episode: Activating Curiosity with Ryan Ware — "The Hardest Truth About Prefab No One in Construction Wants to Admit" Subscribe for more construction leadership insights every week. www.ActivatingCuriosity.com www. ConnectiveConsultingGrp.com

Construction and AEC leaders — prefabrication's biggest barrier isn't the technology, the cost, or the logistics. It's the humans. When Josh Mensinger says that out loud, the room gets quiet. After 20+ years in offsite construction, he's watched project after project fail to adopt prefab — not because the product didn't work, but because the people, the delivery model, and the culture weren't ready for it. This conversation doesn't let the industry off the hook. Josh Mensinger brings two decades of offsite construction experience — now with Integrity Built — to a conversation about what's actually blocking the widespread adoption of industrialized construction, and what leaders need to do differently. What we get into: - Why the "guinea pig" mentality is the single biggest drag on prefab adoption - The delivery model standoff — and why GCs and architects keep waiting for each other to go first - The critical path blind spot: why slowing down design is the only way to speed up fab…

Construction and AEC leaders — the mistake every prefab project makes isn't in the factory. It happens months earlier, in design. The team rushes to fabrication before the plans are truly ready. Then the change orders pile up. Josh Mensinger (20+ years in offsite construction) explains why front-loading design is the difference between prefab that saves money and prefab that burns it. Key drivers: Why rushing into fabrication guarantees rework The critical path blind spot most project teams miss How slowing down design accelerates everything downstream The shift: Prefab isn't a manufacturing solution. It's a design discipline. Leaders who treat it as one win — and everyone else pays for the change orders. 🎧 Full episode: Activating Curiosity with Ryan Ware — "The Hardest Truth About Prefab No One in Construction Wants to Admit" Subscribe for more construction leadership insights every week. ActivatingCuriosity.com ConnectiveConsultingGrp.com